Legarda Commemorates Heritage Month Through Panay Fabrics and Artifacts Exhibit at Senate

IN CELEBRATION OF THE NATIONAL HERITAGE MONTH, SENATOR LOREN LEGARDA ORGANIZED AN EXHIBIT THAT WILL DISPLAY THE COUNTRY’S RICH CULTURE AND HISTORY.
Legarda said that the exhibit, entitled “Panay: Memory and Enchantment”, will truly fascinate spectators as it will showcase the enchanting history of the Panay Island; costumes and artifacts from the Atis and Panay Bukidnons—the indigenous groups that live in the island; and the world-class artworks, handicrafts, fabrics and other products from Panay particularly from the provinces of Aklan and Antique, the Senator’s home province.
Federico Caballero, a Gawad ng Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) awardee, will also perform a special chant during the opening ceremony. Caballero is a chanter of Panay epics, a talent that was passed on from his great grandmother to him.
The event, which will open on May 18, 2011 at the Second Floor Hallway of the Senate, is in partnership with the National Museum, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.
Legarda, who has organized other exhibits at the Senate such as the “Isang Habi, Isang Lahi” and the “Mangyans of Mindoro: Myth and Meaning”, said that she hopes such events would reawaken the citizens’ interest in the nation’s rich heritage embedded in every chant, artwork, handicraft and fabric.
The conduct of exhibits is another way of reviving our culture. As people see, hear, touch and feel how our ancestors lived, one is taken back to one’s roots, sort of an immersion and also a reawakening. That is what we must aim to do—to make our culture part of our everyday life,” said the Chair of the Senate Committee on Cultural Communities.
“Our identity as Filipinos is embedded in our culture. Therefore, we must ensure the preservation of the beauty of the Philippines – its land and its people – our heritage or ‘pamana’ which we must rightfully pass on to the next generation of Filipinos,” Legarda concluded.